National Association of Manufacturers, Allies File Suit Against EPA Over Air Standard
[Click image to enlarge]
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and seven association partners have filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency to challenge the office’s overly stringent, recently finalized rule on particulate matter, or PM2.5.
The eight groups filed suit in the D.C. Circuit to push back on the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards rule, which last month it lowered from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 9, a 25 percent reduction and a stifling burden on manufacturers.
“In pursuing this discretionary reconsideration rule, the EPA should have considered the tremendous costs and burdens of a lower PM2.5 standard,” said NAM Chief Legal Officer Linda Kelly.
“Instead, by plowing ahead with a new standard, the agency not only departs significantly from the traditional NAAQS process, but also gravely undermines the Biden administration’s manufacturing agenda — stifling manufacturing investment, infrastructure development and job creation in communities across the country,” added Kelly.
Participating in the suit with the NAM — which has repeatedly urged the EPA against overtightening the standard — are the American Chemistry Council, the American Forest & Paper Association, the American Petroleum Institute, the American Wood Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Mining Association, and the Portland Cement Association.
If it’s enacted, the stricter PM2.5 standard would cost businesses and the U.S. economy huge sums, hampering company operations and job growth and forcing tough choices on states and towns nationwide.
The total cost of complying with the new acceptable concentration level could be as much as $1.8 billion, according to the EPA’s own estimates — and that number could go up.
What’s more, it would make the U.S. less competitive globally.
“Europe’s current PM standard is 25, China’s is 35. If we want the next manufacturing dollar to be spent in America rather than abroad, a standard of 9 is simply not feasible,” NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Materials last month.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) works for the success of the more than 13 million people who make things in America. Their work is centered around four values that make the industry strong and America exceptional: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty, and equal opportunity. Representing 14,000 member companies — from small businesses to global leaders — in every industrial sector, they are the nation’s most effective resource and most influential advocate for these values and for manufacturers across the country.
Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!
FREE eNews delivery service to your email twice-weekly. With a focus on lead-driven news, our news service will help you develop new business contacts on an on-going basis.
CLICK HERE to register your email address.
Copyright © 2024 Mining Connection LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
For licensing permission, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
